"Welcome back, Tadano-kun!" Najimi greeted Tadano when he entered the class.
"Oh… Hello, Najimi… Has everyone been gossiping about me and Komi…?" His expression grew a little darker when he uttered the last sentence.
"Yeah, everyone has… Speaking of her, she's right there." Najimi pointed to Komi, who was at her seat.
"She looks quite alright, if you ask me…" Najimi scratched his/her head.
Tadano took a close look. She was not alright and normal.
Her hair was a slight mess, but hardly anyone noticed. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and the feeling he felt radiating off of her was… depressing.
He walked over to his seat, taking a deep breath.
"Uh… Good…. Morning, Sho- Komi-san…."
Komi was taken by surprise. She bowed so slightly that a protractor probably could not depict how shallow her bow was. But he understood.
Their classmates just stared at the two of them in confusion. A single thought raced through their minds.
Did they actually break up or are they faking it? What on earth was that greeting?
The entire morning, not a single word was exchanged between the two. Not a single interaction.
Both of them had things they wanted to say, but in truth, they feared each other's rejection once more.
Their hearts were already torn apart, they did not want to suffer another blow.
"Lunch time! Hey, Tadano-kun, Komi-san, wanna come eat with me?" Najimi bounced over once lunch period started.
"I'll go." Tadano nodded slowly.
Komi shook her head, holding up her notebook which had 'sorry' written on it.
"Aw, alright then."
Najimi then grabbed Tadano by the hand and dragged him to the cafeteria.
"So what happened between you and Komi?" Najimi burst out the second they were at the cafeteria.
"That's between us, I'm not telling…"
"Alright, but why have you only brought a drink to lunch…?"
"I'm… not hungry…"
His stomach rumbled as he said that.
Najimi gave him a weird look.
"Fine, I forgot to bring it…" He sighed. He was hoping Najimi would not notice that he didn't bring anything for lunch.
"Why didn't you ask me then? I can gladly share some of my lunch with you!"
Tadano didn't respond.
"Oh, still upset about what happened?"
He still didn't respond. Najimi handed him a cheese bun.
"Here, have it. I don't wanna see you starve."
"Thanks…"
"Come on, Komi may have… Well, yeah… But you still have us as friends! Plus, it's kind of her fault she chose it to be this way…"
"Don't say things like that about Komi!" Tadano snapped, as he stood up. "She wouldn't do something like that to break my heart or whatever. She's not that kind of person. She broke up with me because she had her reasons, and it's not anything selfish. Komi is and will probably always be the nicest girl I've ever met. She won't do things without a reason, and I really doubt she has come to hate me…" He faltered a little in his last sentence.
"Calm down, I was only joking. You do seem affected a lot though."
Komi, listening from behind one of the cafeteria pillars, slowly slipped to the floor upon hearing Tadano defend her. She felt she had no right to be defended after what she had done to him. But here he was, still saying positive things about her.
Komi is and will probably always be the nicest girl I've ever met…
She stood up and ran, but Tadano saw her.
"S-Shouko…?" He watched her silhouette run down the corridors of the school till she was out of sight.
She closed the door to the cubicle shut and sat on the toilet lid, burying her face in her palms as tears began flowing again.
Why is he complimenting me? I dumped him yesterday… and in such a horrible way as well… he shouldn't be… I… I don't know anymore…
She felt as if she was going to all out start crying. She tried her best to hold herself back from letting it all out. It was way too hard though.
"I… s-still l-love you… a l-lot… Hito…" She sniffed. "I'm… s-so... sorry… Please… f-forgive me…"
The next day had arrived. The first thing that caught Komi's eye that day was Tadano's empty seat. She learnt that he had fallen sick and was at home resting for the day.
Sure, it feels less awkward when your ex-partner is not sitting beside you, but she felt very off that day. She could not focus at all during class, and she was starting to have hallucinations.
Does he hate me…? I don't blame him if he does….
What if… he takes his own life...? No, he's a strong man… He should be able to pull through… I hope…
Later that day, during lunch, Yamai entered the class. The first thing she did was sit at Tadano's empty desk.
"Hello, Komi-san. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Komi nodded slightly.
"I heard that loser Tadano dumped you…"
She shook her head vigorously. "He… did not… dump me. I… dumped him…"
"Because he did something to you, right?"
Komi shook her head again. "No… It's… n-not his fault in the slightest…"
"It's alright, Komi-san. Just know that you dumped a guy who did not one bit deserve your love-"
"No… He… deserves someone better than me… I failed as a girlfriend to him…"
"It's alright, you can be with me! I'll make sure you live at the best you ever have!" Yamai said with full pride in her voice.
"Sorry… but… I only have f-feelings for Tadano-kun… H-He's the only one I l-love…"
"But-" Yamai was cut off by the bell which signalled the end of lunch.
"Oh well then, see you soon, Komi-san!" Yamai bowed and left. She did her best to keep her snarl hidden from her.
It seemed as if the only way to get Komi was to get rid of Tadano and do what Ramorou couldn't.
"Guys, we need a new plan."